Hi all, please delete if inappropriate!
My partner & I are looking into the idea of opening a pottery painting cafe in a local university town.
I’m looking for some advice on this as i’m the creative side of this and he is very much the business side as he has a degree in business & economics.
Anything we should know or avoid, or any general advice is very welcome 🙂
Thank you!
Posted by Street-Lab-4546
5 Comments
I’ve been happy seeing those make a comeback in my town, went to one a few weeks ago. I’m old and they used to be a big thing in the early 2000s. Best of luck to you!
What town?
Where the heck is that? My wife owns a pottery studio down here in Southwest Florida and we’ve always wanted to do a café pottery combo with gift shopping, etc..
The “trick” of these businesses is all in the experience. Do you go kids and families or adults (mostly women)? Families will indulge their kids, so that’s an option. If it’s more for adults, there are some options, too.
The goal is more than just to paint the thing, but also to have a relaxing indulgent time (if doing adults version). To that end, you might see about getting a food license if you do this as well, if only to provide snacks of some kind, and beverages. (Obvs harder to get a liquor license, but wine and pottery surely is a thing people enjoy.)
For the mechanics of running the business, it’s all down to the metrics of dollar (your currency here) per guest per hour, and trying to keep overhead expenses to a minimum to combat that.
Your rent, your utilities, all that stuff, then the materials, then labor costs are all up against how much someone is willing to pay to paint a frog holding a “live laugh love” sign or whatever.
You can accessorize the store with retail, and sell candles, bath products, etc, and make it one of those “while you’re here” kind of experiences so that people might pick up and spend even more while they’re there. For kids, it might be plushy toys, etc.
That becomes the balance: can you earn enough to make it viable while letting your customer feel like you’re not a tick after their blood?
They sound fun, but there are a bunch of levers moving to make it sustainable.
Yeah, our idea for the pottery Café is really just breakfast lunch… Lots of egg and cheese sandwiches and good coffee and then kind of an open air to the studio where people will be throwing clay… right now It’s just an idea.